There are two main opinions

From the China Forum

What is fish red

There is one thing that is particularly important when making New Year’s dinner among Hubei folk. , that is Yuhong (this is an authentic Hubei dialect word).

It doesn’t mean that you can’t cook New Year’s dinner without Yuhong, but you can’t cook the most traditional, core, and most indispensable dishes at the New Year’s dinner. That’s not the New Year’s dinner that Hubei people eat.

What is fish red? To put it bluntly, it is fish meat, which is clean fish meat with the fish bones and skin removed.

Fish meat means fish meat, why should we say fish red. Does it mean that there will be more than enough every year and it will be prosperous? No. Hubei people, at least Wuhan people, don’t seem to have so many connotations. I have asked many people why we don’t say fish meat but fish red. The answer is, everyone said so. People in the past said so, and people today follow suit. This seems to be an unreasonable reason, but it is the best reason. Because it’s not enough if you don’t say Yuhong.

If you don’t believe me, go to the market to buy fish and ask the fish seller to help you remove the meat. The fish seller must be looking at you with wide eyes, meaning, where does this person come from? If you say please scrape (cut) off the red fish, the fish seller won’t even raise his head. The most he can say is, “Okay.” Then he will help you cut open the fish, scrape the red fish, and chop the fish into pieces. Then, the decomposed fish is handed over to you.

So, why do people in Hubei call clean fish meat red? It is estimated that someone among the older generation must know, but no one asked, and they were too lazy to tell. As soon as the older generation died, they took it to the coffin. There may be written records, but I haven't seen them.

My analysis is that this is how the name Yuhong came about.

Since ancient times, Hubei people have been good at making fish balls (fish balls). The main ingredient of fish balls is of course fish meat, but not the whole fish meat can be used to make fish balls, because fish balls should be white and crystal clear. This requires that the fish meat must also be pure and white. Therefore, the red meat part of the fish must be removed. Otherwise, the finished fish balls will be gray and not white in color, which will not look good.

The red fish meat removed is the original red fish.

The red fish meat that was removed was not very much, so it was inconvenient to turn into dishes, so it couldn’t be thrown away. So some people thought that since they still have to make meatballs during the Chinese New Year, they might as well mix in pork and mince it together to make meatballs. I never thought that the meatballs made in this way are more delicious and delicious than those made from pure pork. Over time, I started to consciously add more fish to the pork. This way, the meatballs will be soft, tender and elastic, more delicious and save money. In the past, fish was much cheaper and more plentiful than pork in Hubei. Therefore, red fish meat (fish red) is not enough, so whether it is red fish meat or white fish meat, add it to the pork until it reaches the optimal ratio.

Now I want to ask, is the red fish meat added to the meatballs called Yuhong, and the white fish meat added to the meatballs, is it called Yubai? That won't work, because what Hubei people call fish white has long been referring to something else. It is the part of the male fish's body that controls reproduction. That thing is as white as jade, which is called fish white. When combined with the yellow fish roe of the female fish, it is called fish white. Small fish hatch out.

What should I do if I can’t call Yu Bai? It’s easy to handle. Habits will naturally determine it. Because at first the red fish meat added to the meatballs was called Yuhong, and later the fish meat added to the meatballs, even if it was white, became a natural habit, and it was also called Yuhong. Besides, Yuhong sounds pleasant and festive, and everyone is willing to call it that.

It’s not over yet. If things go on like this, not only the fish meat mixed with pork is called fish red, but also the pure white fish meat specially used to make fish balls is also called fish red. I just need to emphasize it when saying this. , this is the fish red used to make fish balls, and the fish red used to make meat balls.

Interestingly, Yuhong is only a spoken word of Hubei people. The official Hubei recipes do not say this, they all refer to pure fish, red fish, and white fish. Perhaps the authors are also afraid that readers will not understand what fish red is.

Now, even in Hubei, there are already people who can’t understand the dialect word Yuhong.

Another theory

A post from Qianxing Liuyue Bar

Yuhong: Prepare a container for collecting blood, put some water and salt Stir well to dissolve all the salt. The water is not three times the amount but about 1/5 of the expected amount of blood. Also have a cooking broom ready for stirring. When killing fish, collect the blood directly into the container and stir it continuously with a broom to prevent coagulation. Drain the blood from the fish and let it sit for half an hour. After the blood has coagulated, cut it into appropriate sizes with a knife. Boil a pot of hot water at about 75-80°C. Carefully put the cut fish blood clots into the hot water and soak them for about 25 minutes before the fish blood is completely coagulated. You can make all kinds of fish blood dishes. If the fish blood is boiled in water before cooking, no matter what the heat is, the fish blood will be cooked and lose its smooth and tender taste.

Hope this can help you